(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drive mode guide system and a method thereof, and more particularly, to a drive mode guide system for an electric vehicle and a drive mode guide output method using the system.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In general, electric vehicles are provided with a plurality of drive modes for vehicle operation. In particular, the drive modes include a general mode which allows a vehicle to travel according to the user's acceleration request, an echo mode of controlling a vehicle to maintain an optimum fuel efficiency, and a sports mode that is configured to increase the dynamic performance of the vehicle. The drive modes are set in consideration of vehicle systems, such as the vehicles provided motor or power system.
However, the amount of consumed energy changes during actual travel over a road due to a change in vehicle speed and a change in vehicle load as a result of certain road conditions (e.g., an inclination or the curvature of the road) and/or traveling environments (e.g., cross wind, etc.), when a vehicle travelling over a road. In particular, for electric vehicles, the energy consumption of the vehicles rapidly changes in accordance with the traveling state of the vehicle, regenerative braking, operation of an air conditioner system, the user's driving habits, and air resistance. Therefore, although a driver selects one of these drive modes, a vehicle cannot always effectuate any one of these driving modes if these factors are not also taken into consideration.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.